Set inside the majestic Covenant cityworld, High Charity, Gemini is known for its contradicting clash of frantic battle and peaceful tranquility. These chambers once served as place for meditation for the Prophet hierarchy but nowadays the only thing served is carnage.

The roots of Gemini go back further than the High Charity you remember from the Halo 2 campaign. Gemini is the spiritual successor to "Duality", a popular map released long ago in the Marathon Infinity pack. While the visuals have clearly been given a substantial update, the basic layout remains intact. These screens below are taken from the original "Duality" map to give you a better idea of just how far things have come.

Artist Tom Doyle explains the basic similarities between the two maps, "The Duality map from Marathon actually had a pond in the center, but we went with something more suitable for the Prophets – a tree." Aside from this new majestic tree, the fundamental layout and flow of the original map remain intact.

Why Gemini? What were the gameplay goals for bringing this map into Halo 2? Designer Tyson Green explains:

"Our goal was a good map for small groups, but with more of a good ranged game than other small maps, like Elongation. Some small maps are too open and too dominated by the sniper rifles, so we were targeting the medium range weapons, like the Carbine. So there are open spaces, but there are also simple things like doors to limit the range, and lots of disengaging options from each area."

Gemini is indeed good for small groups and the array of corridors, corners and doorways breaks the map up into small chunks, good for quick close range encounters. The map is made even smaller by the inclusion of two teleporters that take players from one of the map the other. Two additional teleporters allow players to reach perches high above the tree, perfect for ambushes.

Porting a Marathon map into Halo 2 isn't just a matter of swapping out textures. Tyson recalls some of the challenges they faced when balancing Gemini:

"Marathon ’s weapons were shorter range than Halo’s, so we had to add a lot of cover to Duality’s open layout to keep the sniping weapons from being too dominant."

This cover comes in the form of a giant tree, a giant Prophet statue, doors and numerous rocks and outcroppings. Weaving in and out of the cover in the central atrium while dodging Carbine shots is exhilarating and a good way to escape incoming sword lunges.

Many folks have been on the receiving end of a sword one too many times and feel it's often too powerful to counter. While sometimes that may be the case, it's not the case on Gemini.

"The Sword actually works well on the map, countered as it is by the Carbine," explains Tyson. "You can also move in interesting ways through the map, playing mind games with single opponents as you play a ranged game with them."

Weapons